As technology makes it increasingly easy to avoid advertising, a growing number of UK brands are looking to create entertainment rather than disruption to engage their customers.

The most significant area for growth is digital media while broadcast remains highly regulated. Product placement on TV remains off limits for many brands and for those that can, screen time is limited by a requirement to only appear when editorially justified. This over-regulation combined with broadcasters’ protracted processes for commissioning programmes results in very few advertiser funded TV shows being made.

Instead brands are creating content and experiences to engage their audiences on other screens, and distributing content via largely unrestricted digital channels, which are under their control.

However, linear TV remains massively popular and even without product placement TV programmes can cleverly be used by brands to drive audiences to digital content, social media channels and experiential projects. In this case, the funding of a TV show allows advertisers to license an entertainment property for more overt brand integration and inspire active participation in their campaign objectives.

Using #playstationmemories as inspiration, we created a digital film that celebrated 19 years of PlayStation gaming through the eyes of a British teenagers to show the heritage of the brand and evoke an emotional response from the audience, something Microsoft were unable to do. It opens in a bedroom in 1995, when the first PlayStation was released in the UK. As the camera pans around the room, the viewer is taken forward in time. The film shows its progression in a much wider context by reminding fans of their key PlayStation memories alongside changes in fashion, music and technology.

A Demonstration of Play was interacted with over 1.7 million times with over 5 million people being reached with the broader campaign.

PlayStation’s awareness and brand scores overtook Xbox’s way ahead of launch.

Week 1 sales of 248,000 PlayStation 4 smashed XBOX One’s 150,000 despite XBOX One being out first. By Christmas, PS4 had sold 500,000 units, whilst XBOX One had barely passed 332,000*.

PS4 consoles are still selling out: demand is far outstripping supply.

For the first time in recent history, PlayStation outsold all competitors across all key platforms: PS3, PS4 and PS Vita.

*Source: GFK Charttrack – Confidential